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This document is a report entitled "Interim Report by the Special Committee on Racial Discrimination for 1955 (without Recommendation for or against its Adoption)" written by the Association of American Law Schools. The report was attached to a letter from David F. Cavers, Associate Dean and Professor of Law of Harvard Law School and Chairman of Special Committee for the Association of American Law Schools, to William T. Muse, Dean of the T. C. Williams School of Law, and Cavers asked Muse for any comments and criticisms in regards to the report. The Special Committee met with member schools after the Brown v. Board of Education decision to discuss their anti-discrimination policy; all but one member school attended, which may be in reference to Homer A. Holt’s memorandum sent on September 8, 1955. On the encouraging side, one major private institution in the South decided to admit black students into its law program and there were two state universities that were likely to do the same; in addition, faculties and student bodies at law schools seemed ready to welcome black students. However, the public was becoming increasingly resistant to integration, private institutions were worried that financial contributions would decrease if they admitted black students, some believed the Association’s intervention would be ineffective. The report included a draft proposal that detailed the proposed amendment, consequences for members who did not follow the new policy, and resolutions.

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Interim Report by the Special Committee on Racial Discrimination for 1955 (without Recommendation for or against its Adoption), 8 Sept 1955, RG 6.2.4 box 22 folder 16, University Archives, Virginia Baptist Historical Society.

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1955-09-08

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]]>http://memory.richmond.edu/items/show/1935In the report, the Association made it clear that continued membership in the Association was contingent on compliance with the new objective. The Association also acknowledged that "Law and its procedures have been used in countless ways as the instrumentalities of discrimination" but "our law has become an agency of emancipation and correction." The report claimed that segregation in law schools is ironic because now "it is the law that is being invoked to end segregation in education." Opponents to the Association’s sanctions argued that the Association "may encourage, but should not require, conformity with the ideals of a majority of its members." They also addressed other oppositional viewpoints, such as public institutions that refuse to comply and schools experiencing "humiliation" by admitting a black student.

The report proposed the following amendments: The Committee’s Specific Case Approach, The Nature of the Sanction, The Conditions to the Proposed Sanctions Operation, The Authority to Defer Action, Action by the Association in Excluding and Reinstating Schools, and Reports of Non-Compliance. The Committee’s Specific Case Approach called for equal opportunity in legal education and denounced "discriminatory denials of admission," which was the "most important barrier to equal opportunity." It also stated that schools that did not comply would be excluded from membership in the Association. Schools that denied a black applicant—not schools that did not have any black applicants—would be excluded from membership. The Nature of the Sanction called for amending the Articles of Association to add the new sanctions. The Conditions to the Proposed Sanction’s Operation acknowledged that "Negro applicants may sometimes in fact be handicapped in meeting [admissions standards] by inadequate prior education" and that some institutions may put admissions standards in place that may be impossible for black applicants to meet; it called for an investigation if the Association found that a school denied admission based solely on race or color. The Authority to Defer Action permitted the Committee "to defer temporarily a recommendation to the Association that the discriminating school be excluded" as a "precaution against cutting off opportunities for constructive action by member schools." Action by the Association in Excluding and Reinstating Schools described the exclusion and reinstatement processes. Reports of Noncompliance called for a system of reporting compliance with the Association’s standards and requirements.

]]>2017-07-19T10:46:51-04:00

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Report "Report of Special Committee on Racial Discrimination for 1955"

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This document is a report titled "Report of Special Committee on Racial Discrimination for 1955" written by the Association of American Law Schools. The report outlined the Association’s new policies on equal opportunity in legal education and the consequences member schools may face if they did not comply. At the Association’s 1950 meeting, it resolved that it "‘opposes the continued maintenance of segregation or discrimination in legal education on racial grounds, and asserts its belief that it is the professional duty of all member schools to abolish any such practices at the earliest possible time.’" This report was the result of that resolution. At the time of its publication, "sixteen member schools have not yet admitted Negro students or announced a readiness to admit them," which the Association found "disappointing" especially considering the Association’s adoption of an amendment to its Articles of Association and Brown v. Board of Education. The Association’s amendment stated that one of its objectives was "‘Equality of opportunity in legal education without discrimination or segregation on the ground of race or color.’" After Brown v. Board, only a few schools had desegregated; the Association’s Special Committee was doubtful that integration would occur "‘if the Association engages only in exhortation and watchful waiting, and the need for action of a more positive character by the Association will therefore have to be considered.’"

In the report, the Association made it clear that continued membership in the Association was contingent on compliance with the new objective. The Association also acknowledged that "Law and its procedures have been used in countless ways as the instrumentalities of discrimination" but "our law has become an agency of emancipation and correction." The report claimed that segregation in law schools is ironic because now "it is the law that is being invoked to end segregation in education." Opponents to the Association’s sanctions argued that the Association "may encourage, but should not require, conformity with the ideals of a majority of its members." They also addressed other oppositional viewpoints, such as public institutions that refuse to comply and schools experiencing "humiliation" by admitting a black student.

The report proposed the following amendments: The Committee’s Specific Case Approach, The Nature of the Sanction, The Conditions to the Proposed Sanctions Operation, The Authority to Defer Action, Action by the Association in Excluding and Reinstating Schools, and Reports of Non-Compliance. The Committee’s Specific Case Approach called for equal opportunity in legal education and denounced "discriminatory denials of admission," which was the "most important barrier to equal opportunity." It also stated that schools that did not comply would be excluded from membership in the Association. Schools that denied a black applicant—not schools that did not have any black applicants—would be excluded from membership. The Nature of the Sanction called for amending the Articles of Association to add the new sanctions. The Conditions to the Proposed Sanction’s Operation acknowledged that "Negro applicants may sometimes in fact be handicapped in meeting [admissions standards] by inadequate prior education" and that some institutions may put admissions standards in place that may be impossible for black applicants to meet; it called for an investigation if the Association found that a school denied admission based solely on race or color. The Authority to Defer Action permitted the Committee "to defer temporarily a recommendation to the Association that the discriminating school be excluded" as a "precaution against cutting off opportunities for constructive action by member schools." Action by the Association in Excluding and Reinstating Schools described the exclusion and reinstatement processes. Reports of Noncompliance called for a system of reporting compliance with the Association’s standards and requirements.

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This document is a letter from Guy H. Ranson, a Southern Baptist educator, to George M. Modlin, the President of the University of Richmond, that was sent on June 14, 1954. Ranson wrote to Modlin urging him to end segregation at the university. He believed that it is "a primary principle of the Faith, that is the equality and brotherhood of all men" and, considering the Brown v. Board of Education ruling, Baptists would be ridiculed by other religions if they did not integrate. In integrated schools in states that practiced segregation, "the acceptance and compliance by students and local citizens has been surprisingly good." Southern Baptists had also begun admitting black people to all of their seminaries. Ranson believed that if the university integrated, it would "experience no injury" and "profit greatly."

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This letter was sent on April 13, 1954, by L. Maynard Catchings to George M. Modlin, the President of the University of Richmond. Catchings wrote to Modlin regarding racial integration at the university. Catchings was a part of the Student Movement of the YMCA, a Christian organization that "aided students in overcoming racial prejudices" because it is "the basic Christian belief that, all men are brothers under God, and that discrimination on grounds of race creates a serious gap between our belief and our practices." The Student Movement of the YMCA sponsored interracial student-faculty conferences. Catchings wanted to offer his organization’s services to the university and other private, Southern, Christian colleges. He also asked Modlin questions about racial integration at the university.

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This document is a memo from William H. Leftwich to E. Bruce Heilman and Charles E. Glassick that was sent on November 26, 1973. Leftwich wrote to Heilman and Glassick about the Student Organization for Black Awareness (SOBA) at the University of Richmond; Leftwich helped black students create the group and wrote of it: "their purposes are social in nature, as well as serving as a vehicle for black identity and visibility." According to Leftwich, the group was having problems due to a lack of purpose and goals, and Jim Sartain, their advisor, and Dick Mateer, whose position is not named, were trying to help and work with the group. SOBA’s President, Stanley Davis, and other members had asked to meet with the University Administration, so Leftwich asked Heilman and Glassick to attend SOBA’s meeting to show the university’s interest in the group and black students. Attached to the letter was a handwritten note from Sartain about his two-and-a-half-hour meeting with SOBA, and he told Leftwich to be prepared for SOBA to request a "two-way informational meeting" with the University Administration. At the bottom of this handwritten note, the word "WARNING" is written in red. A blog post about this item can be found here.

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This is the Annual Report of Religious Activities for Westhampton College of the University of Richmond for the 1970-1971 academic year that was submitted by Jean Mahaffey, the Director of Religious Activities. She began the report by explaining how religious activities for that year lent themselves to social consciousness and exploration of self and their communities. The University Interfaith Council, whose mission was to provide ministry through a symposium, community action, encounter, and study groups, was "very poorly attended," had weak leadership, and even canceled their conference for that year. The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) financially and personally sponsored Irene Ebhomielen, a freshman student from Ibadan, Nigeria, by raising funds for her education, securing tutors, and introducing her to American culture, and making arrangements for school holidays. The YWCA even made it a part of their campus involvement mission to address "institutional racism" where efforts included: establishing a committee to investigate an exchange program with Virginia Union University, a historically black college and university, student recruitment of black high school students, the sponsorship of a black high school visit day, and a national student YWCA person came to campus to help them define racism and get faculty support for minority recruitment. Some YWCA students even attended a National YWCA conference on racism in Durham, North Carolina. The Baptist Student Union, of which all Baptist students were members, fell short of their potential because of "unimaginative and uninteresting programs," lack of unity, and "student resentment." The Hillel Foundation had small group meetings on Sundays, lectures, films and discussions. The student body reacted negatively to Vespers, a group of fundamentalist, conservative students who believed in the literal interpretation of the Bible. The Lenten Services and Study programs had low attendance. Mahaffey ended the report by offering some recommendations: increased communication between Westhampton administration and campus ministry, the construction of a student center, an increase in community action projects, and one university chaplain instead of one for each college. Director Mahaffey said that organized religion appealed to a small minority of students, however, social action in their communities was widespread.

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On September 10, 1963, Executive Director of the University of Richmond Young Democratic Club, Dabney Lee, wrote the Mayor of Farmville, Virginia, William Watkins, on behalf of a black minister, Rev. L. F. Griffin, in Farmville. Lee began the letter by expressing the importance of having an increase in both the quantity and quality of public accommodations in Farmville. He believed that Farmville officials should already know that businesses shouldn't be able to discriminate, and should treat all customers equally, regardless of race. Lee then made a list of requests to the administration of the Mayor: remove discriminatory practices in hiring, "the immediate hiring of colored policemen," end segregation, conduct a study to facilitate better housing for all citizens, and to construct "bi-racial committees...to make progress towards a truly American community." The University of Richmond Secretary-Treasurer, Charles Wheeler III, notified President Modlin of this letter on October 4, 1963. Wheeler had previously had a conversation with Dabney Lee, and Lee claimed that the letter was his idea and the Young Democratic Club did not approve the letter, "but he was sure that was the feeling of the Club."

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]]>http://memory.richmond.edu/items/show/1838Our Time In History Campaign" to attract more students of color to the University. Finally, they wanted to see more black and minority faculty members because they felt as if they were important models for black and minority college students.]]>2017-07-07T16:22:50-04:00

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Student Organization for Black Awareness "Three Goals for 1977-1978"

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The Student Organization for Black Awareness (SOBA) got together to establish three goals for the 1977-1978 academic year. First, they wanted to see the University of Richmond "actively recruit blacks and minority students." To do so, they aimed to have students of color join the Admissions recruiting teams on trips, which they had offered to do so in the past, but were denied. Additionally, they proposed to help the Admissions Office create brochures targeted at minority students. SOBA also wanted a scholarship specifically for minority students included "in the Academic Our Time In History Campaign" to attract more students of color to the University. Finally, they wanted to see more black and minority faculty members because they felt as if they were important models for black and minority college students.

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]]>http://memory.richmond.edu/items/show/1823The Collegian called “B.S.U. Adopts Resolution on Racial Issue,” published May 16th, 1958 discusses the Virginia Student Baptist Union (BSU) at their spring retreat held April 18-20, 1958, at which they adopted a resolution on racial discrimination. The students adopted these measures because they felt the racist ideology often harboured in churches is incompatible with the teachings of the Bible. The resolution called for racial inclusivity in the church and on college campuses affiliated with the Southern Baptist church, and it additionally called for protection for church leadership, that they may voice their opinion without fear of economic consequence.]]>2017-07-07T16:04:22-04:00

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Article "B.S.U. Adopts Resolution on Racial Issue"

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The article in The Collegian called “B.S.U. Adopts Resolution on Racial Issue,” published May 16th, 1958 discusses the Virginia Student Baptist Union (BSU) at their spring retreat held April 18-20, 1958, at which they adopted a resolution on racial discrimination. The students adopted these measures because they felt the racist ideology often harboured in churches is incompatible with the teachings of the Bible. The resolution called for racial inclusivity in the church and on college campuses affiliated with the Southern Baptist church, and it additionally called for protection for church leadership, that they may voice their opinion without fear of economic consequence.

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]]>http://memory.richmond.edu/items/show/1786The Web 1974 yearbook focuses on interest groups at the University of Richmond. One group featured in this selection, in the middle row right photograph, was that of the Student Organization for Black Awareness (SOBA), the first black student led group. The University of Richmond did not enroll its first black student -- Barry Greene -- onto the main campus until 1968.]]>2017-07-07T16:03:30-04:00

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The Web 1974 "Organization for Black Awareness"

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This image found in The Web 1974 yearbook focuses on interest groups at the University of Richmond. One group featured in this selection, in the middle row right photograph, was that of the Student Organization for Black Awareness (SOBA), the first black student led group. The University of Richmond did not enroll its first black student -- Barry Greene -- onto the main campus until 1968.